The present invention generally relates to a sensor switch assembly for animated interactive toys, and more particularly to a sensor switch assembly for determining the presence of an object, such as a thumb or bottle, in the mouth of an animated toy doll.
Interactive toys are popular for children. Interactive toys often include various sensors for providing the toy with information about the toy""s environment, or about actions being taken by a child playing with the toy. Examples of such toys are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,901, 3,912,694, 4,825,136, 4,840,602, 4,900,289, 5,141,464, 5,158,492, 5,191,615, 5,281,143, 5,413,516, 5,636,994, 5,820,441, 6,048,209, and 6,149,490, and in WO0035548, WO0044461, and WO0149383, the disclosures all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The operation of one prior art solution for a sensor switch assembly is shown in FIGS. 2-5. The prior art switch assembly has a plate mounted to a body of the assembly about a fixed pivot pin, and a micro-switch that is triggered by pivoting of the plate about the pin. FIG. 2 shows a head of a toy with a bottle poised for insertion into a mouth of the toy. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the prior art sensor switch assembly without a bottle or other object inserted into the mouth of the toy.
As shown in FIG. 3, the plate is approximately horizontal extending along the roof of the toy""s mouth. The micro-switch is not activated when the mouth is empty because it is being held in the un-activated positioned by a generally vertical arm connected to the plate. The micro-switch also may not be activated when a nipple of a bottle or other item is inserted into the mouth in a horizontal position, as shown in dashed lines, because no pivoting force is exerted on the plate. This may lead to frustration on the part of a child playing with the prior art toy, because the toy will fail to respond as might otherwise be expected by the child.
FIG. 4 shows a bottle inserted into the mouth of the prior art toy, with an upward tilt. This position of the bottle is what is often necessary to activate the prior art sensor switch assembly, because of the limitations of this assembly. As shown in FIG. 5, the plate that was approximately horizontal is now inclined with the rear portion higher than the front portion. Upward movement of the rear portion of the plate causes the vertical arm to move forward away from the micro-switch allowing it to move to the actuated position.
The disclosed sensor switch assembly is intended for use inside a simulated mouth of a doll. The assembly includes a fixed structure having a guide channel, a micro-switch attached near the guide channel, and a movable structure having a floating pivot that may slide along the guide channel so that the micro-switch may be triggered by any combination of sliding or pivoting of the movable structure.
The advantages of the present invention will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.